Brazil in the World Cup 2010

For some time now, South Africa have been facing a crisis in Power supply (see note by The New York Times from 2007, and by The Economist from 2008), and Johannesburg has been submited to a rationing of electricity; each week, a sector of the city goes without electricity.

With winter approaching (in the Southern Hemisphere, winter lasts from July to September), and as the wheels of the World Cup Economy start to spin, the consumption of energy tends to increase, and matters get worse.

Yesterday (May 17th 2010), Eskom, the South African utility company (7th largest in the World), issued a warning (the image to the left is the cover of newspaper The Star, issue May 18th 2010):

South Africa’s electricity company expects to be under pressure during the FIFA World Cup.

State-owned Eskom says it will regularly update South Africans on supply during the tournament, which starts June 11, and ask them to turn off some appliances if power runs low.

Under the worst circumstances, South Africans will be asked to turn off everything but one TV – so they can continue to get updates – and one light.

The utility says “although electricity supply is expected to be sufficient over this period, cold winter temperatures combined with high electricity demand is likely to place Eskom under additional pressure”.

At the same time that citizens are asked to save energy, the lights of the Soccer City are kept full lit 24 hours a day (photo).

And will Brazil be ready to supply power to the World Cup 2014?

Today, Brazil has no shortage of power; however, the country is growing fast and new projects are delayed. This is another point FIFA should pay attention to.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 9:05 pm and is filed under business.